PHOTO GALLERY | At Johnstown rally, Trump says he'll end 'era of inflation, mayhem and misery' (2024)

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Former President Donald Trump reiterated his support of death sentences for drug dealers during a rally Friday in Cambria County, which often has one of the highest overdose rates per capita in Pennsylvania.

The Republican presidential nominee spoke about the loss of lives caused by drugs and the “families that are destroyed forever.”

“The only thing (drug dealers) would understand would be the death penalty,” Trump said.

On the overall issue of drugs in the country, Trump said: “We have to do something about it. We are becoming – and we are – a drug-infested nation. We have to do something.”

Trump also addressed issues including crime, energy and international affairs during a 90-minute speech at 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial in downtown Johnstown.

Trump said if he is elected president, “the era of inflation, mayhem and misery” will end.

“We will save our economy,” Trump said. “We will rescue our middle class. We will reclaim our sovereignty and restore our borders. We will put America first, and we will take back our country. Together, we will make America powerful.

“We will make America wealthy again. We will make America strong again. We will make America proud again. And we will make America safe again. And we will make America free again. And we will make America great again.”

Many of his remarks focused on undocumented immigration. Trump said he will “carry out the largest deportation operation in American history” if elected.

“The county’s inundated with really tough people that are criminals,” Trump said. “I want to get them the hell out.”

Trump also spoke at length about the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, referring to her as “a real believer in the radical left” and a “Marxist” who will “destroy this country.”

“Comrade Kamala Harris, she just doesn’t care about the American people, especially the hardworking middle class,” Trump said.

‘I love those people’

Trump addressed a recent ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, where he met with family members of military personnel who were killed during the evacuation from Afghanistan in 2021. He attended the event at their invitation.

“I love those people,” Trump said. He blames President Joe Biden for their deaths.

“Joe Biden killed those young people because he was incompetent,” Trump said.

Trump used images of his meeting with the families in a TikTok video.

“Participants in the August 26th ceremony and the subsequent Section 60 visit were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and (Department of Defense) policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds,” according to a statement from the Army.

“An ANC employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside. Consistent with the decorum expected at ANC, this employee acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption. The incident was reported to the (Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall) police department, but the employee subsequently decided not to press charges. Therefore, the Army considers this matter closed.”

‘Means everything’

JWF Industries President and CEO William Polacek, former Ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands and U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser were among the speakers supporting Trump.

Trump senior aide Stephen Miller, who has family connections to Johnstown, spoke about the city’s history that has included the loss of the steel industry and economic struggles over the past half-century.

“This town means everything to me,” Miller said, “and I witnessed and I saw how globalists and the corrupt ruling class gutted this town,” taking away “the birthright of your children.” He said Trump is the “one man” who can “bring our future back to Johnstown and back to Pennsylvania.”

Well over 6,000 people attended the event, according to Johnstown fire Chief Robert Statler, with many lining up hours in advance outside the arena.

Robert Gleason Jr., a current member and former chairman of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania Committee, talked about the get-out-the-vote aspect of the rally during an interview earlier in the week.

“Everybody knows who’s going to vote for who,” Gleason said. “There are very few undecided people. So the main job of parties is to get their vote out. That’s what it is. That’s the name of the game.”

‘Don’t want him back’

Trump is running for president for the third time, having won in 2016 and lost to Biden in 2020. He is a twice-impeached convicted felon who is also accused in court of leading a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election.

“We fired Trump one time,” Cambria County Democratic Party Chairwoman Nina Licastro said. “We don’t want him back. Why would we want him back? The man won one election. Do not get me wrong, there are a lot of people who believed in what he said. He came in and he was a different voice. But he’s not the new kid in town anymore. He’s been running for election for nine years.

“He’s raised over a billion dollars and he’s still asking for your money every day because it’s going to his legal bills and his kids and his cronies. He doesn’t care about the American people. He cares about grifting them.”

The committee to elect the Democratic Party ticket of Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz issued a statement before the Johnstown rally on Trump’s presidency and candidacy.

They felt his first term was “bad” for workers, including “undermining labor unions” and “handing massive tax breaks to big corporations. ... A second Trump term would be even worse: his plans would raise costs by $3,900 for middle-class families while giving massive handouts to his billionaire allies,” said the statement from Onotse Omoyeni, Pennsylvania’s rapid response director for Harris for President.

Earlier in the week, a group of regional Harris supporters held a press conference addressing job loss during Trump’s presidency, an occurrence that was related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Two thousand of those (275,000) Pennsylvania jobs (Trump lost) were right here in Altoona,” President of the Blair-Bedford Central Labor Council AFL-CIO Bob Kutz said. “And I can tell you, having been to many of those worker rehab get-togethers that we would have for them, it was not fun to see all those good workers cut back and lose their good, family-sustaining jobs. Nearly every major union in the country has endorsed Harris and Walz, and we want to assure you that we will be there for them.”

‘Do it again’

Down-ballot Republican candidates U.S. Rep. John Joyce, R-Blair, and David McCormick, who is running for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, also spoke in the afternoon.

Joyce is a three-term incumbent and a staunch supporter of Trump, who carried Cambria County with just over 68% of the vote in 2020.

“Cambria County, Pennsylvania 13, we know it is time to once again deliver that overwhelming victory for Donald J. Trump,” Joyce said. “We did it four years ago, and we are going to do it again in that November election.”

Adams County resident Beth Farnham, a Democrat, is challenging Joyce in the 13th District. She said Trump came to the city “because he believes mistakenly that he represents the people of Johnstown. He does not represent the people of Johnstown. Nothing could be farther from the truth.”

She added: “The people of Flood City have a generational resilience that conman Trump has never known.”

McCormick is running against U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr., a Democrat.

“I’m going to be OK no matter what happens in this election,” McCormick said. “Many of you are going to be OK. We’ve got more years behind us than in front of us. I’m 59. I’ve got more years behind me than in front of me. Our kids are not going to be OK. Your kids are not going to be OK. We need to treat this election like our life depends on it because, ladies and gentlemen, it does.”

Casey endorsed Harris in July, soon after Biden withdrew from the race.

“With women’s rights, workers’ rights, and voting rights on the line, the stakes of this election for Pennsylvania and the nation couldn’t be higher,” Casey said at the time. “Vice President Harris has been leading on those fights and as a former prosecutor, she will draw a clear contrast between herself and former President Trump.”

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